Day 1 - Dec 15 - l'Arc de Triomphe

After meeting up with Jo at Charles de Gaulle Airport, we took the RER back to her work for lunch and some caffeine. While changing trains at Chatelet des Halles, there was a brief moment of confusion where police appeared on the platform and herded everyone up the escalators as a train pulled in. Then, everyone came back down and boarded the train. I had no idea what was happening, but the first thought was bombs. After a lunch of roast chicken, noodles and beans with Jo and her colleagues, I briefly struggled with a French keyboard to let people know I had arrived alive. Then, I consulted a Paris map and set off to explore the city before meeting Jo again dinner.

The plan was to start at the l'Arc de Triomphe, because it involved a simple ride on the train (no switching lines) and I wanted to get the lay of the land. Emerging from the station stairway was my first glimpse of downtown Paris - tourists at a giant roundabout taking pictures of the arch (lower left hand corner of this picture).



I crossed the street via the underground tunnel and saw my first of many vendors selling mini Eiffel Towers. I walked around the bottom of the arch for a little bit before going up. I had never realized before that this was a 4-way arch rather than a 2-way one.





At the top. First sighting of le Tour. And Paris radiating in wedge-shaped blocks from the arch. All under wonderfully clear skies (I had landed in thick fog). I was extremely excited to be traveling again, with a new city full of things to be explored and photographed. My first walk would be from the Arch to Notre Dame (rendez-vous point).